Surprise ‘South Park’ Ending Is A Massive Troll Of 'The Simpsons'

The creators of “South Park” seriously trolled “The Simpsons” on Wednesday by calling out the long-running hit show for “bigotry and hate” and closing with a #CancelTheSimpsons hashtag. 

The episode centered around Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo, a talking turd in a Santa hat that first appeared in a Christmas-themed episode in 1997. In a hearing that mocked Brett Kavanaugh, Mr. Hankey attempted to defend his offensive tweets. The Poo blamed Ambien, a la Roseanne Barr, who once claimed the sleep drug played a role in a racist tweet she sent that ultimately got her canned from her own TV show. 

At the end of the program, Mr. Hankey was cast out of South Park and sent to a land “that accepts racist, awful beings like him,” where people “don’t care about bigotry and hate.” That place? Springfield, the community of “The Simpsons,” where Mr. Hankey was welcomed by Apu, a character that’s been condemned for its racist stereotyping.

The episode’s title, “The Problem With A Poo,” was a reference to “The Problem With Apu,” a documentary about “The Simpsons” character and its stereotypes.

Since “South Park” is not exactly known for politically correct humor, the ending of the episode was likely more of a playful poke at a rival than a serious call for cancellation.

It also seemed to be a callback to a recent promo in which “South Park” called for the cancellation of itself, complete with a #CancelSouthPark hashtag:

The two shows have occasionally referenced each other over the years, including a 2002 “South Park” episode called “Simpsons Already Did It.” The episode-long gag was that the “The Simpsons” had used every possible plot device. 

“The Simpsons” has also made a few “South Park” references, with Bart and Milhouse watching a fake episode of the show: 

When “South Park” depicted Muhammad in one of its most controversial episodes, “The Simpsons” used Bart’s chalkboard punishment to send a little message of support... sort of: “South Park - we’d stand beside you if we weren’t so scared.”